The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1887-08-03

|
the past, unhappy to-day. to be nm
happy forever, unless you come to
this Gospel we'll. This satisfies the soul
with high, deep, all-absorbing, and eternal
satisfaction. 1t comes, and it offers the most
| unfortunate man so much Of this world as IS
| best for him, and throws all heaven into the
| bargain. The wealth of CroeSus, and of all
| the Stewards and of all the Barings, and all
| the Rothschilds, is only poor, miserable
SHILLING. compared with the eternal fortunes
| that Christ offers you to-day. In the far East
! there was king who used once a year to get
on the scales while on the other side the scales
| were placed gold, and silver, and gems; in
| deed, enough were placed there to balance
| the king; then, at the close of the
! weighing, all those treasures were thrown
among the populace But Christ to day steps
on one side the scales, and on the other side
are all the treasures of the universe, and He
! says: "All are yours-ali height, all depth,
| all length, all breadth, all eternity; all are
yours" We don't appreciate the promises Of
the Gospel When an aged clergyman was
dying-a man very eminent in the Church
a young theological stud ent stood by his side,
and the aged man looked up and said to
him: Cant you give me some comfort
in my dying hour" "Nc," said the young
man; IL can't talk to you on this subject;
you know all about it, and have known it so
Eses to a some saa sae dysg mf fhe you
man thought moment, and he came to this
prom;se ''The blood Of Jesus Christ cleanseth
from all SIM" and the old man clapped his
hands, and in his dying moment said: That's
Just the promise I have been waiting for;
The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all
sim" Oh, the warmth, the grandeur, the
magni6cence of the promises.
Come also to this Gospel well all ye
troubled. / do not suppose you have escaped.
Compare your view of this life at fifteen
years of age with what your view is OF it at
forty, or sixty, or seventy. What great
contrast of opinion! Were you right then. or
are you right now? Two cups placed in your
hands, the one sweet cup the other sour
cup. A cupof joy cup Of grief. Which has
been the nearest to being full, and out OF
which have YOU the more frequently par
taken? What different place Greenwood is
from what it used to be! Once it was to you
grand city Improvement, and you
went out on the pleasure excur-
sion, and you ran laughingly up the mound,
and you criticised in light way the epitaph.
But since the day when you heard the bell
toll at the gate when you went in with the
procession, it is sad place, and there is a
Hood of rushing memories that suffuse the
eye and overnaster the heart. Oh. you have
had trouble, trouble, trouble. God only
knows how much you have had. 1t Is
wonder you have been able to live through
IT, IL IS WonueT your nervous syoIcih ii'''
not been shattered and your brain has not
reeled. Trouble, trouble. If l could gather
all the griefs, of all sorts, from this
great audience, and could put them in one
scroll, neither man nor angel could endure
the recitation. Well, what do you want'
Would you like to have your property back
again? "No," you say, as Christian man,
II was becoming arrogant, and think that
is why the Lord took it away. l don't
want to have my property back. Well.
would you have your departed friends
back again? "No," you say, 81 couldn't
take the responsibility of bringing. them
from a fearless realm to realm OF
tears. couldn't do it." Well, then, what
do you want' A thousand voices in the
fort" For that reason have rolled away
the stone from the wells mouth. Come, all
ye wounded of the flock, pursued of the
wolves, come to the fountain where the
Lords sick and bereft ones have come.
"Ah," says some one, ''you are not old
enough to understand my sorrow. You have
not been in the world as long as have, and
the time Of old age" Well, I may not have
lived as long as you but have been great
deal among old people, and know how they
feel about their failing health, and about
their departed friends, and about the loneli-
ness that sometimes strikes through
their souls. After two persons have
lived together for forty or fifty years,
and one of them is taken away, what
desolation! shall not forget the cry of the
late Rev. Dewitt, of Newly York, when he stood
by the open grave of his wife, and after the
obsequies had ended, he looked down into the
open place and said: Farewell my honored,
faithful and beloved wife. The bond that
bound US is severed. Thou art in glory, and
am here on earth We eshall meet again. Fare
well! Farewell! !" To lean on a prop for fifty
years, and then have it break under you!
There were only two years difference between
the death Of my father and mother. After
my mothers deceasc, my father used to so
around as though looking for something; ho
would often get up from one room, without
any seeming reason, and go to another room;
and then he would take bis cane and START out
and some one would say: Father where
are you going.' and he would an
am going" Always looking for something.
Though he was a tender-hearted man, I
never saw him cry but once, and that was at
the burial of my mother. After sixty years
living together, it was hard to part. And
there are aged people to-day who are feeling
just such pang as that. Iwant to tell them
there is perfect enchautment in the promises
Of this Gospel; and come to them and offer
them my arm, or take their arm and bring
them to this Gospel well Sit down. father or
mother, sit down. See if there is anything at
the we'll for you. Come, David, the Psalmist,
have you anything encouraging to offer thems
YES" says the Psalmist; They shall still
bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat
and fiourishing, to show that the Lord is up
unrighteousness in me-" Come, Isaiah,
have you anything to say out Of
your prophecies for these aged peo,
plem Yes says Isaiah: "'Down to old
age am with thee, and to hoary hairs will l
carry thee" Well, if the Lord is going to
carry you, you ought not to worry much
about your failing eyesight and failing limbs.
will come to want, do you9 Your children
and grandchildren sometimes speak a little
sharp at you because Of your ailments.
The Lord will not speak sharp. Do
you think you will come to wants
Who do you think the Lord is? Are His
granaries empty! Will He feed the raven,
and the rabbit. and the lion in the desert and
forget you! Why, naturalists tell us that the
porpoiSe will not forSake its wounded and
sick mates. And do you suppose the Lord
of heaven and earth has not as much
sympathy as the fish of the sea! But you
say: II am so near worn out,
and 1 am of no use to God any more
think the Lord knows whether you are
of any more use or not; if you were Of no
llOIe use ne NOuiu HdNe tdheH fOu OeAOiO
this. Do you think God has forgotten you
because He has taken care of you seventy or
eighty years? He thinks more Of you to-day
than He ever did, because you think more of
Him. May the God of Abraham, and Isaac,
and Jacob, and Paul, the aged. be your God
for ever!
But 1 gather all the promises to-day in a
group, and l ask the shepherds to drive their
aocks of lambs and sheep up to the sparkling
w hN11 10 fhn